After losing her housing in 2021, Tracy Weiler was hungry and without hope. Alongside her dog Rockett, she endured the harsh desert climate for nearly four years.

In November 2024, Tracy completed a Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool assessment (VI-SPDAT) and sought help from the Primavera Foundation's Homeless Intervention and Prevention (HIP) program. There, she gained access to mail services, hygiene products, resources and dog food assistance.

About a month after enrolling for help at HIP, Tracy was matched with a housing voucher.

The challenge, however, was locating Tracy without an address or cell phone. For three weeks, the Primavera Mobile Outreach team searched the streets, encampments, bus stops, tunnels, and parks, shared her photo with other outreach teams and left messages for her to check in and call her case manager and the outreach team at locations where she was known to frequent.

After weeks of persistent efforts, the outreach team received a tip pointing to Tracy’s whereabouts and contact was finally established in early January.

Tracy and Rockett are now housed, and Tracy has secured a part-time job with additional job interviews lined up.

Diane Kent, Mission Team Elder at St. John on the Desert Presbyterian Church, poses with the items donated by the congregation at the Primavera Foundation Training Center on January 14. 

The mission team at St. John on the Desert has worked diligently over the past decade on social justice causes. 

Once they determined that addressing homelessness in Tucson should be a priority for their church, Mission Team Elder Diane Kent and her team began searching for the best ways to support unhoused individuals or individuals who were at risk of losing their homes. 

“As that initiative began to develop, we interviewed and vetted local agencies in the Tucson area and Primavera was ‘adopted',” Kent said. "Being a small congregation, we know there's wisdom in giving to organizations like (Primavera) because of the direct impact on the community." 

"Our vision and mission for our church is supporting people who are unhoused or at risk,” Kent said. “We want to get people warmed up this time of year. It brings life to the community."

The following is an Op Ed by Primavera CEO Tisha Tallman published in the Arizona Daily Star on Friday, January 31:

Local opinion: Federal chaos calls for local collaboration

An early-morning Tuesday text message from a fellow nonprofit housing provider alerted me to the week of uncertainty that followed.

For those of us who have weathered the ups and downs of nonprofit giving triggered by national tragedies, climate disasters or financial crisis, we try to anticipate the year ahead with each new budget year. However, what happened this week is unlike any other time. The complete cut-off of all federal funding was a jolt that shocked us all.

Looking for answers on a brisk walk, I instead found solace. Solace in our daily work with our neighbors and community. 

Primavera Foundation will join hundreds of other organizations, including nonprofits, university departments, independent booksellers and more, as members of our staff will be stationed at Booth #207 during the Tucson Festival of Books March 15 and 16. 

Join us as we share information about homelessness and our work to co-create pathways out of poverty in Tucson. We will have items such as custom bookmarks, stickers, pens, brochures and more! 

Learn about volunteer opportunities and opportunities to give and get involved.

Stay tuned for more updates! 

Join Everyone Runs on Sunday, April 6 as they host Southern Arizona’s Favorite Trail Race at Catalina State Park at two distances: half-marathon and 5.3 miles. 

The race will serve as a fundraiser for Primavera Foundation, and Everyone Runs will match donations collected. 

If you would like to support Primavera directly, visit the Give page of our website at the "Give" button below.

Primavera Foundation is hosting its second annual Primavera Invitational Golf Tournament this Fall! 

Please watch for a date and location for the 2025 tournament. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact Philanthropy Officer Allison Wexler (awexler@primavera.org). 

For information on last year's inaugural Primavera Invitational, please click below. 

Join us in welcoming Christina Rienzo as Primavera Foundation's new Philanthropy Services Coordinator. She joins us with experience in foundation relations and alumni engagement at the University of Arizona Foundation and over a decade in K-12 education.

Christina will focus on volunteer and in-kind donation management and support Philanthropy Officer Allison Wexler in the world of Philanthropy.

Learn more about Christina below! She may be reached at crienzo@primavera.org. 

The Philanthropy Team is gratefully accepting in-kind donations on Mondays at our Training Center located at 151 W. 40th Street. Please refer to the following list of items we are currently accepting and check back often. We frequently update this list to meet the ever-changing needs of our participants.

Items Currently Being Accepted:

Items Currently NOT Being Accepted:

For information, please contact Christina Rienzo (crienzo@primavera.org). 

In addition to the updated in-kind donation process, the Primavera philanthropy team has implemented an updated volunteer application process. If you would like to volunteer with Primavera Foundation, please fill out the Volunteer Application Form using the below button or by visiting the Volunteer page of our website. Your volunteer hours are needed now more than ever. We look forward to hearing from you!

For information, please contact Christina Rienzo (crienzo@primavera.org).